Trans Europe Halles (TEH) is a European-based network of cultural centres initiated by citizens and artists.
History
In 1983 the independent
cultural centre
A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run.
Asia
* Ce ...
"Les Halles de Schaerbeek" (
Brussels, Belgium
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
) organised a weekend of discussions in Brussels to enable European independent cultural centres to exchange experiences and participate in events under the theme of "Adventures of the rediscovered ark". This three-day forum focused on an
alternative culture
Alternative culture is a type of culture that exists outside or on the fringes of mainstream or popular culture, usually under the domain of one or more subcultures. These subcultures may have little or nothing in common besides their relative ...
emerging in rehabilitated
industrial buildings Industrial architecture is the design and construction of buildings serving industry. Such buildings rose in importance with the Industrial Revolution, starting in Britain, and were some of the pioneering structures of modern architecture.
File:R ...
, and asserting its
identity
Identity may refer to:
* Identity document
* Identity (philosophy)
* Identity (social science)
* Identity (mathematics)
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film
* ''Identity'' (2003 film), an ...
despite the reservations of political authorities.
The seven independent cultural centers that participated in this 1983 meeting and co-founded Trans Europe Halles (TEH) are: Halles de Schaerbeek in Brussels, Huset KBH in Copenhagen, Kulturfabrik in Koblenz,
Melkweg
Melkweg (Dutch for "Milky Way") is a popular music venue and cultural centre in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located on Lijnbaansgracht, near Leidseplein, a prime nightlife square of Amsterdam. It is housed in a former dairy and is divided into ...
Rote Fabrik
Rote Fabrik (''Red Factory'') is a former factory in the Wollishofen neighbourhood of Zürich, Switzerland. It is now used as a music venue and cultural centre. It is so named because the buildings are made of red brick, but also because left- ...
in Zurich. The list of members has since gradually expanded to include other multidisciplinary venues (film, video, theater, visual arts, music), such as Le Confort Moderne or Le Plus Petit Cirque du Monde in France. They put forward often upcoming artists, as well as stars and cult films. They organize music festivals or rave parties, urban art workshops, exchanges and gatherings on social themes, etc.
That 1983 meeting was the seed of what nowadays is Trans Europe Halles (TEH), the European-based network of cultural centres initiated by citizens and artists, that currently gathers together around eighty members and associated organisations in almost thirty countries.
TEH members are cultural centres emerged from
civil society
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.industrial or commercial buildings that have been adapted to artistic and cultural uses. Besides this, they are very diverse in terms of geographical location, size, inspirational backgrounds, funding models, artistic programmes, etc.
Organization & Structure
Members
Trans Europe Halles has currently 89 members and 51 associate organisations in 40 countries. Most of Trans Europe Halles centres are established in repurposed buildings:
industrial heritage
Industrial heritage refers to the physical remains of the history of technology and industry, such as manufacturing and mining sites, as well as power and transportation infrastructure. Another definition expands this scope so that the term a ...
buildings like factories, warehouses, or more recently buildings formerly dedicated to military, commercial or religious uses.
All Trans Europe Halles centres are multidisciplinary, but their main artistic disciplines as well as their regular activities vary a lot.
To become a TEH Member, applicant cultural centres must fulfill the following membership criteria:
#To be an independent and not-for-profit centre arising from a citizen’s initiative with a legal structure.
#To have a multidisciplinary artistic policy encouraging interaction between art forms, with an emphasis on contemporary art.
#To be based in user-friendly buildings preferably originating from a commercial or industrial heritage.
#To have a high-quality artistic programme of at least regional significance with an awareness of contemporary culture, ranging from local to international art.
#To be aware of the social and political aspects of cultural actions with an Equal Opportunities Policy or commitment.
Governance and Management
TEH is run in a decentralised way; the member centres participate in the decision-making of the network during the network meetings. Each centre has one vote regardless of its size or economic status. The
Executive Committee
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
, selected biannually, is the governing and policy making body of the network.
The members of Trans Europe Halles meet twice a year during TEH Meetings. Decisions are made at the
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
of each meeting. During the Spring meeting a formal General Assembly is held with the approval of
final accounts
Final accounts gives an idea about the profitability and financial position of a business to its management, owners, and other interested parties. All business transactions are first recorded in a journal. They are then transferred to a ledger and ...
, election of Executive Committee and approval of the yearly
budget
A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environment ...
. Each member has one vote regardless of the size of the centre.
Trans Europe Halles’ Executive Committee is the governing and policy making body of the network. It consists of a minimum of five and a maximum of eight people and is elected for two years at a time.
The Trans Europe Halles Coordination Office is located at the cultural centre Mejeriet in
Lund, Sweden
Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish province of Scania, across the Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipality, Scania County. The Öres ...
. With a broad and multi-lingual membership and an intense flow of information and ideas, the Trans Europe Halles Coordination Office is a crucial hub. The Coordination Office is responsible for internal and external communication of the network and publishes the monthly TEH
Newsletter
A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of i ...
. The Coordination Office also supports project-planning and
fundraising
Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...
activities for the network and has become a focal point of expertise within the network.
Activities
Meetings
Organised twice a year and hosted by a different member centre each time, the TEH meetings are a source of inspiration and a birthplace for new collaborations. It is also the opportunity for our members to meet and discover new countries and new cultural centres.
The activities and programme are all of interest of the participants, with a strong focus on
capacity building
Capacity building (or capacity development, capacity strengthening) is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility (or capability) "to produce, perform or deploy". The terms ''capacity building'' and ''capacity development'' ha ...
. During three days, participants are invited to take part to workshops, seminars, lectures, and networking sessions. On the last day of each meeting, an outing is organised for the participants to get to know more about the local culture.
Projects
The network coordinates several bilateral and multilateral projects:
* 2015–2019 Creative Lenses: Business Models For Culture
* 2015–2017 Europe Grand Central
* 2014–2015 Independent Cultural Centres In South America
* 2015-2019 Engine Room Europe (ERE)
* 2013–2015 Green Art Lab Alliance (GALA)
* 2013–2014 TEH Mentorship Programme
* 2011–2014 Engine Room Europe
* 2010 Conference New Times New Models
Publications and Resources
* Design Handbook for Cultural Centres, 2014.
* CSOS Creative Strategies of Sustainability for Cultural Operators, 2014.
* Leaders Stories, 2014.
* New Times, New Models. Investigating the internal governance models and external relations of independent cultural centres in times of change, 2010.
* Changing Room. Mobility of Non-Artistic Cultural Professionals in Europe, 2010.
* The Lift. Sharing experiences of a youth exchange network project, 2009.
* Managing Independent Cultural Centres. A Reference Manual, 2008.
* Factories of Imagination, 2001.
Trans Europe Halles also publishes reports, handbooks and other types of media on subjects concerning culture in Europe.